Brent Council raise almost £100,000 in landlord fines in just four weeks

Four weeks of prosecutions by Brent Council in north London has seen six successful results with total court fines for rogue landlords of £97,727, the highest amount recorded by Brent in such a short period.

One private landlord, Bernard Patrick McGowan, was ordered by Willesden Magistrates Court to pay more than £40,000 last week for failing to licence a flat in Craven Park, Harlesden, which was above commercial premises. He had also failed to take into account disrepair issues in the property with two children living in poor conditions.

Two weeks ago, Willesden Magistrates Court also fined five defendants a total of £18,700 for HMO licensing offences. The charges were failure to licence an HMO, breaches of management of an HMO, failure to respond to notices, victim surcharges and costs in respect to a property at 127 Monks Park in Wembley.

The property was in a potentially dangerous condition having inadequate fire protection, defective lighting and disrepair to stair coverings.

The landlords of 74 Sudbury Avenue in Wembley were last month fined almost £6,000 for failure to licence an HMO and for failing to comply with HMO management regulations.

Councillor Harbi Farah, cabinet member for housing, said: “It’s vital that we prosecute landlords who break licensing rules because they are putting tenants at risk by allowing living conditions that can be dangerous and unsafe.

“By taking legal action we are protecting tenants and making sure that standards are high in our private rented sector.”